for Attention Deficit Disorder Adults

Bonnie Mincu

Senior Certified ADHD Coach

Is Your Morning Going Down the Drain with Email?

People with ADD / ADHD are more susceptible than most when it comes to Internet Addiction. One of the biggest culprits for feeding an addiction is the common office activity of email.

Email first thing in the morning is a productivity-killer

Email has become an enormous time-waster in office jobs. Among my coaching clients, the greatest productivity-killer in the workplace is the habit most people have of checking email first thing in the morning. If you have ADD / ADHD, hyper-focusing on email means you may not get down to real work until at least an hour later. Meanwhile, much of your email time may have been spent on low-priority correspondence rather than more critical work.

The interactive nature of email has created an addictive-type NEED in many ADDers. Some professionals who work in an office become anxious if they can’t check email every ten minutes. Obviously, their productivity suffers greatly, which certainly must impact their career potential!

How to break the obsessive email habit

The great majority of emails do NOT require an immediate response. In most professions, it’s enough to check email three times a day. If you’re an obsessive email-checker, set a timer with intervals of at least 30 minutes before you allow yourself to check email. Make the intervals longer each week.

In time, you’ll find it less stressful to be able to work at a task in peace without feeding a nervous anxiety to constantly check needlessly. If there are particular email senders that you don’t want to miss (such as your boss), set an alarm to notify you when you get THEIR emails, and shut off the signal for the rest.

Remember, every interruption is a major hit to your attention span. Imagine how your daily productivity would increase by eliminating the needless mental fidgeting caused by constantly checking email.

Author: Bonnie Mincu

Senior Certified ADHD Coach, Founder of "Thrive with ADD," Bonnie has been coaching adults with ADD / ADHD traits since 2001. She has developed numerous training programs to help with the challenges of Adult Attention Deficit Disorder.

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